Left Alone
by Nerdy McNerdface
Summary: Everyone remembers the story of Red and Blue. Nobody remembers the story of the girl they left behind. (K for darker themes)


The first day of our journeys.

Those two and me.

Each of us charged our way to the lab at full force, with me taking the lead while they kept insulting each other jokingly. The Pidgey's sweet songs accompanied us that day as our little trio burst into the workplace of Samuel Oak. I remember everything from then on, as though it all happened this morning.

Red lifting up the sphere containing the Fire Type, Charmander, without making a single sound. Blue smirking and throwing up the Poke Ball of the Water Type, Squirtle, and jeering yet again to his childhood friend and rival as he caught it with a cocky flourish. Me gently releasing the Grass Type, Bulbasaur, out into the lab and allowing it to fall into my warm embrace.

Me, leaving the building immediately to set off on my first adventure with my Premier Ball hat perched lightly on my head, while both of them stayed behind to settle scores with the first battle of their lives. Bulbasaur settling into my arms as we waited for them to conclude their fight. Blue poking fun at me like he always did, this time for holding too much sentimental value in all of us leaving together, as Red watched on silently.

Meeting up with Red in Viridian City, only for him to inform me with barely any tone that he wanted to battle Blue upon Route 22, since Blue requested him do so after losing his first match against Red. Blue insisting that I watch despite me not having any interest in battling, in case he happened to be victor. Red emerging as the winner to the shock of Blue.

Reaching Pewter City as a trio, only for Red and Blue to tell me that they wished to train for a while so they could take on the first Pokemon Gym. Me declining the offer of training with Bulbasaur and claiming that I only wished to see the world with a companion I'd never forget and my two oldest friends.

Red, sighing and shaking his head. Blue, saying that the road the two of them would have to take was much more linear than mine, and that I'd never be able to see the whole of Kanto if I remained following the two of them. Red chiming in, letting me know that him and Blue were never even intending on travelling together, or with me for that matter.

Me, the one girl in the group, Leaf, understanding what they were telling me, and nodding in agreement while a strange pit formed itself in the bottom of my stomach. Me, leaving Viridian City and the two of them behind, while Bulbasaur slept soundly within my grasp.

The next month or so of me exploring the region I grew to adore. The people I met - Gym Leaders such as Misty and Surge, relations of important people like Janine, the son of Koga, and other kids just like me all along the way - being supporting, kind and happy to have a conversation. Me, replying with positive emotions and plenty of topics to keep the talks going, before I wished those people farewell with a positive grin and a wave and continued on my journey.

One day, where I suddenly felt a wave of homesickness come crashing down upon me, only for me to realise that I'd lost the way home long ago. That day, where I wished that I could see Pallet Town again, that day, where I wished I could see the warm smile my mother always gave me, that day, where I wanted to see Red and Blue again.

A few days later, when I came across Lavender Town in the middle of Winter, the snow falling around the grim town in layers of silky white. That moment where I felt a sense of obligation to pay respects to the Pokemon resting within the town's graveyard, as Bulbasaur clung onto my shoulder and nestled my cheek while we entered. The echoing staircases of the tower that sent almost unbearable shivers down my spine. The split second where I recognised Blue's voice shouting from the floor above, and feeling the lump in my throat from homesickness dissipate away as I almost tripped over my own feet clambering up the stairs to see him again.

The fear that penetrated me when I became witness to why he was being so loud, who he was yelling at.

The fury that was carved into Blue's face as his words tore through Red, while the latter did nothing but remain silent. The horror as the two boys, oblivious to me, showed how much they had changed from a single incident. Red, who had become nothing but a blank slate, and ashamed of the pain he had caused for his friend who was like a brother to him. Blue, overtaken by rage and sadness as he sliced through his old friend with insults, tears cascading down his face while he gave a sharp point to the grave located behind him.

Me, being too terrified to take another step. Me, holding a fist to my heart as I realised how I didn't recognise the two boys in front of me anymore. Me, somehow gaining the courage to run away from the fight, too scared to even try and intervene with a matter I knew no more about than the next person. Me, collapsing into ball of sobs within the snow as I exited the building to let the adrenaline out. Me, slowly but surely being calmed down by hugging my one and only companion, Bulbasaur.

Me, forcing myself to continue my journey and put that day behind me. The next half of the year, greeting yet more new people and enjoying myself like I never had before, all while a shadow settled in the back of my mind, a shadow that lay in wait until I was vulnerable before it would strike and remind me of the incident at Lavender Town. The shadow that never struck often, but the nights when it did being some of the worst.

A day somewhere in Summer, when I had taken a stop on Cinnabar Island to take a look at its famous volcano and get to know the locals. The news that rippled through the island that the team of crime that had been seeping through the region, Team Rocket, had been defeated in Viridian City by an eleven-year old boy by the name of Red. The sudden urge that struck me like a bolt of lightning to go see my old friend, after such a long time of being separated, now that I knew where he was. Asking a local of the island who I'd been getting to know if they could sail me back to Pallet Town, and the local agreeing.

The pang of nostalgia that seared through my mind as I set foot back in my hometown. The brief visit to my mother where we shared an embrace, before I left abruptly and began thundering down Route 1 to find Viridian City. Spotting the paparazzi by the Gym, and demanding that I saw the child who took down Team Rocket. The shrugs that were shared all around by the cameramen and interviewers, as they claimed that he'd simply disappeared after telling them his name, that he'd walked off in the direction of Route 22 without a second glance at the news teams.

The sadness that overwhelmed me, as the phrase "ok then, thanks for letting me know" caught in my throat, before I ran from the prying eyes of the city and cried in a back alley, distraught that I had missed my chance to see at least one of my friends again. The tears that I wiped off my face, before I nodded to myself, nodded to Bulbasaur, and headed to the Pokemon league as fast as my worn out legs would carry me.

I remember it. I remember waiting outside the badge gates, barely able to hold all my emotions in. I remember clutching Bulbasaur close to my chest. I remember I began feeling something that caused all my next moves to occur. I remember it was irrational, but that's what emotions are, after all.

I remember the sudden anger that encased my entire body, how the shadow that had been lying in wait at the back of my head surrounded me and took control of my movements, and without even thinking I ran through the first badge badge gate. I remember how I read the sign saying that anyone who tried to pass through the gates would be assumed as a trespasser. I remember disregarding it in the heat of the moment.

I remember the alarms sounding, but they became nothing but a whirr in my ear. I passed through the second gate, the third, then froze at the fourth. I remember it all so clearly. The shimmering water laid out as a task to the challengers of the Pokemon league, as a small lake that required a Pokemon that knew how to swim to cross. And all I had was my precious Bulbasaur. I remember being cornered that day, the feeling of pure terror slowly overcoming my burst of rage as the alarms suddenly seemed more real, more loud, and a more terrifying threat than I had even thought.

I remember beginning to sob in front of the policemen that surrounded me, I remember telling them that all I wanted was to make sure that my friends were ok, that one of them had recovered from the shock of doing something terrible to the other, that the other had forgiven the former for what he had caused. I remember how my body felt heavy, how it hurt to even stand. I remember how the adrenaline faded, leaving me as a shaking mess in a situation I couldn't talk myself out of.

That day, I was lucky I left the station without being arrested. The policemen offered up a fine as a punishment, to which I obliged, before I went out into the Kanto region once more.

And the rest speaks for itself. Red became the champion of Kanto and Johto, while Blue became the eighth Gym Leader of Kanto to replace Giovanni, who I later discovered was the very man that Red had taken down to defeat Team Rocket as he was, in fact, the leader. However, shortly after they accepted their roles, both disappeared suddenly. Blue let the press know that he was taking a break from battling to think about everything he had done in the past, while Red just... left one day, with no warning to anyone.

To this day I still wonder what the two of them are doing now, where they are, if they'll ever make up to each other concerning their argument back in Lavender Town. I still wish I could've seen them at least one more time, even if they hadn't forgiven each other, just to make sure that they're doing alright. I wish that the two had never fallen out like that, and I just wish... I just wish that we could've been friends like the old days.

I still have Bulbasaur, and he's one of the reasons I still have happiness in my life. Whenever I feel down while remembering my two missing friends, he's always there to nuzzle me, check I'm feeling alright, and climb into my lap if I'm not. I don't know where I would be without the one friend who is still with me to this day.

Everyone remembers the two kids who took on the Kanto Pokemon League and became the champion and eighth Gym Leader respectively, only to both disappear shortly after.

I wonder - did they ever remember the girl who started the journey alongside them, only to lose both along the way?

* * *

 **Hello dear reader! So this is a One-Shot that I wrote a while back and posted to the Serebii forums, and I just decided that I would move it over here. Leaf is an underrated protagonist, and so I wanted to write about her, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I ended up with this result, and I think it's pretty unique!**


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